A South Jersey man who represented himself in court on a murder charge will be spending nearly a century behind bars.

Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia Bradshaw's office says on Friday, 33-year-old Jawaad Ali of Lindenwold was sentenced to 90 years in state prison for killing a man in a Mount Laurel hotel room four years ago after luring him there to be robbed.

In June, a jury deliberated for two hours before convicting Ali on the following charges:

  • First-degree murder
  • First-degree robbery
  • First-degree kidnapping
  • Second-degree burglary
  • Second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery
  • Second-degree desecration of human remains
  • Third-degree wrongful impersonation
  • Fourth-degree credit card theft

Two co-defendants who pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

Authorities say an investigation revealed that on the night of May 8th, 2020, Ali, along with Asia Boone and Anthony Sermond-Guyton, lured 31-year-old Samer Alhalayqa of Camden, to the Fairfield Inn on Century Parkway where he was suffocated in a third-floor room and then dragged into the hallway.

Former Fairfield Inn in Mount Laurel NJ as seen in 2018 - Photo: Google Maps
Former Fairfield Inn in Mount Laurel NJ as seen in 2018 - Photo: Google Maps
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His debit card was then used to withdraw funds from a nearby ATM, an Amazon order was placed, and a Papa John’s pizza was paid for.

Ali, who represented himself in court, was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Nicole C. Lister and Assistant Prosecutor David Kras Bakardjiev. Boone and Sermond-Guyton were prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Jamie Hutchinson. The investigation was conducted by the prosecutor’s office and the Mount Laurel Police Department.

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